Pac-12 women's golf honors announced
VAUGHN NAMED WOMEN’S GOLFER OF THE YEAR
LEE NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
FARR-KAYE TABBED COACH OF THE YEAR
SAN FRANCISCO — Monica Vaughn of ARIZONA STATE was named the Pac-12 Women’s Golfer of the Year, STANFORD’s Andrea Lee was tabbed Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Arizona State coach Missy Farr-Kaye was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in a voting by the Pac-12 women’s golf coaches. In addition, as previously announced at the 2017 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championship, the complete All-Pac-12 Women’s Golf Team is included.
Vaughn, a native of Reedsport, Ore., closed out her collegiate career with an historic season for the Sun Devils. Vaughn led the Sun Devils to their NCAA-best eighth national title at the 2017 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. Vaughn, the 2017 NCAA individual medalist, became the first golfer since 2013 to win an individual title and a team title in the same year. During the 2016-17 season, Vaughn was 10th nationally with a 71.61 stroke average, recorded seven top-10 finishes, shot a career low of 64 at the PING/ASU Tournament and won the individual title at the NCAA Regional in Lubbock, Texas. Vaughn, a three time PING/WGCA All-American, a three-time First Team Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and a CoSIDA Academic All-District team member, became the fifth ASU women’s student-athlete to win the Honda Sport Award for women’s golf and the first since Grace Park in 1999. The Honda Sport Award is presented annually to the “best of the best in college athletics.”
Lee, from Hermosa Beach, Calif., not only earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, but also was a Pac-12 First Team all-conference selection. Lee was 11th nationally with a 71.62 stroke average and had nine top-10 finishes this season for the Cardinal, including medalist honors at the Windy City Collegiate Championship, Peg Barnard Invitational and the East Lake Cup. Lee concluded the 2016-17 season placing sixth at the NCAA Championship and earning Ping/WGCA Freshman of the Year and WGCA First Team All-American honors.
Farr-Kaye, earns her first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor. She joins Melissa Luellen (2006, 2007, 2009) and Linda Vollstedt (1989, 1993, 1994, 1995) as the only other Arizona State coaches to have earned this honor.
In her second year as head coach, she has guided the Sun Devils to their NCAA-best eighth national title. Under Farr-Kaye’s leadership, Arizona State won five total tournaments in the 2016-17 season, including the NCAA Lubbock Regional. Farr-Kaye has been a member of three NCAA championship teams at Arizona State – first as a player in 1990, then as an assistant coach in 2009 and most recently in 2017 as the head coach at her alma mater. Farr-Kaye also became the fifth Arizona State head coach to be named WGCA National Coach of the Year.
The Pac-12 golf awards and the All-Pac-12 Team are voted on by the Conference head golf coaches. Following is the complete list of honors:
All-Pac-12 First Team
Name School Year Hometown
Casey Danielson Stanford Sr. Osceola, Wis.
Mariel Galdiano UCLA Fr. Pearl City, Hawai’i
Andrea Lee Stanford Fr. Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Olivia Mehaffey Arizona State Fr. Belfast, Ireland
Haley Moore Arizona So. Escondido, Calif.
Victoria Morgan USC RSr. Pasadena, Calif.
Krystal Quihuis Arizona Jr. Tucson, Ariz.
Robynn Ree USC So. Redondo Beach, Calif.
Linnea Strom Arizona State So. Hovas, Sweden
Albane Valenzuela Stanford Fr. Geneva, Switzerland
Monica Vaughn Arizona State Sr. Reedsport, Ore.
Lilia Vu UCLA So. Diamond Bar, Calif.
Honorable Mention: Lucia Gutierrez, California; Kirsty Hodgkins, Colorado; Esther Lee, Colorado; Gabriella Then, USC; Bethany Wu, UCLA; Sophia Zeeb, Arizona State.
Pac-12 Player of the Year: Monica Vaughn, ASU
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year: Andrea Lee, Stanford
Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Missy Farr-Kaye, ASU